Minnesota Twins: Gene Glynn has a merry go-round at AAA Rochester

Rochester Red Wings manager Gene Glynn was interviewed after he was named manager of the team in 2012. (Dylan Heuer/RedWingsBaseball.com

OAKLAND, Calif. -- One afternoon this week, Gene Glynn was throwing early batting practice to a group of young Twins when it dawned on him.

He had managed all seven of them this year at Triple-A Rochester.

You could have swapped out those seven for another seven and then repeated the exercise before you would have (barely) run out of current Twins who wore the Red Wings colors this season.

Of the 33 players on the Twins' active roster heading into Thursday night's game against the Oakland A's, a whopping 20 of them had spent at least some time with Rochester. That included Josh Willingham and Trevor Plouffe, who passed through on rehab assignments.

"That was a fun team," Twins first baseman Chris Parmelee said. "It was a blast. You go down there, lot of free agents, you haven't met some of the guys yet. They welcomed me with open arms down there."

A team that started 2-11 and had Twins officials worried about a potential disaster somehow morphed into a group of "Hot Wings" that reached the postseason for the first time since 2006.

This is the 35th year in professional baseball for Glynn, the former two-sport star at Waseca (Minn.) High School and Mankato State University. His journey has taken him through seven years as a Montreal Expos minor league infielder and later 13 seasons as a big-league coach in Colorado, Montreal, Chicago and San Francisco.

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He was coaching third for the Blake Street Bombers when the 1995 Rockies reached the postseason in their third season of existence and the next year, when they broke all kinds of offensive records.

He held the same job for the 2003 Giants when he sent J.T. Snow barreling into the final out of the division series against Pudge Rodriguez and the Florida Marlins.

And yet, ask Glynn about this season in Rochester, and the September coaching call-up can't help but smile.

"I would say I had more fun this year," he said, "with that group of guys than any team I've ever been with."

Those who played for and watched that team roar back to make the playoffs on the season's final day, going 77-59 after that nightmarish start, aren't surprised.

Glynn never brought a boa constrictor into the clubhouse the way his friend Joe Maddon did this year with the Tampa Bay Rays, for whom he scouted from 2007-11. Yet Glynn, who turns 57 on Sunday, still managed to keep things moving in the right direction without such gimmicks.

"Gene did an unbelievable job," Twins left-hander Drew Albers said. "He was a calming presence. He still made it fun coming to the ballpark. He kept a positive environment in the clubhouse. He made you want to play for him and do well for him."

Sixty-six players cycled through the Rochester roster this year, including 33 pitchers. Glynn used 15 left fielders, 15 starting pitchers and had 12 different relievers save at least one game.

At one point early in the season he had five catchers at his disposal, including turnaround catalyst Dan Rohlfing, yet Glynn found a way to kept them all involved.

"We had guys that really respected the game, and they played hard," Glynn said. "It was a good atmosphere. It was a good group, a goal-oriented group."

Step out of line, however, and Glynn would be quick to set you straight.

"He's loyal, but not to a fault," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. "There's a difference."

The Twins had tried twice previously to hire Glynn, once in the fall of 1998 and again after the 2002 season. Each time a big-league job offer came through before former farm director Jim Rantz could find a fit for him in the system.

After these past two years at Rochester, it appears the Twins and Glynn have finally found that fit.

"He can get down to some business if he sees some things he thinks aren't right," Ryan said. "He is a team guy. There's no individualist in Gene Glynn. Regardless of your status as a prospect or non-prospect, veteran or rookie, if you're not a team guy, you probably are going to have some problems with Gene."

For the 2013 "Hot Wings," there was far more fun than there were problems.